Madam Speaker, let me make something very clear. I know the hon. member knows this very well. By his own admission, he has spent quite a considerable amount of time at Department of National Defence headquarters, meeting not only with the minister but with other officials.
The government and, more important, the members of our defence forces would never put the lives our sailor in danger. They would not send a sub out to sea if it were deemed in any way that it would pose harm or risk to lives of those sailors. That would never happen.
The member brought up the issue of the ammunition that was stored. What was very clear in the allegation was that the ammunition on board the Victoria class submarines was somehow not stored properly and that it was stored in a manner that could potentially ignite oxygen canisters and cause damage. It is a very good question, but the reality is the allegation proved to be absolutely false.
The department's design authority, in conjunction with the navy's technical authority on both coasts, investigated the issue of the location and storage of ammunition onboard our submarines. The storage of munitions was deemed to be within specifications. Most important, the location of the ammunition was deemed to be in a location that was safe.
I think that is the basis of the legitimate question the member asked. Are the munitions stored in a safe fashion and is there any relationship between the munitions and the oxygen canisters? Our military and navy, which do a superb job, have looked at this thoroughly and ascertained that this simply is not the case and that they are stored very safely.
It is also worthwhile noting that submarines are extremely complicated machines. Accidents do happen. However, when accidents happen, it is our responsibility and duty to get to the bottom of it very quickly. Indeed our defence forces do that right off the bat. That has happened in the tragic case of the Chicoutimi , notwithstanding the tragic death of Lieutenant Saunders. It is very clear that our navy acted in a responsible manner by immediately enacting the board of inquiry to look through all the issues surrounding the fire, identify causes, provide solutions and we will implement those solutions right away. The testimony to that is, as a precautionary measure, we put our navy subs at dock right away. That is a responsible thing to do.
Members of our navy and armed forces as well as the Minister of National Defence have acted responsibly from the beginning. I have been there from the beginning and I can tell members that all the information that we have received has been sent out immediately to the public and to members of the House. People were informed as closely and responsibly as we could. Members of the Department of National Defence have done exactly the same thing. They have acted in a responsible and forthright fashion and that is a testament to the honour with which they carry out their duties.